How Time Restrictions Work: the Roles of Urgency, Anticipated Regret, and Deal Evaluations

Abstract

Consumer promotions are a major marketing tool and have long been the focus of academic research. Recent efforts have focused more on the process by which discount size, and especially time restrictions, influence consumer responses to promotions. To date, deal evaluation has been introduced as the primary process mechanism for promotions, incorporating both discount size and any restrictions. However, evidence on the effect of time restric-tions on deal evaluation has been mixed. Some research shows a negative effect of restrictions on deal evaluation (Sinha, Chandran, and Srinivasan 1999), while other research suggests a positive effect (Inman, Peter, and Raghubir 1997). Thus, the primary pur-pose of this paper is to extend the literature on promotional restrictions by reconciling these findings. We develop a model in which purchase intentions during a promotion are driven by three factors: deal evaluation, anticipated